Not Everyone Thinks San Francisco's New 'Micro' Apartments Are A Great Idea

A
rendering of the 220-square-foot apartments to be built in San
Francisco.Panoramic
Interests

San Francisco's Board of Supervisors approved the
country's tiniest apartments last week, 220-square-foot pads
that can be occupied by no more than two people, according to The
Los Angeles Times.

375 units of these apartments will be built to help deal with the
affordable housing crisis in San Francisco, where the average
studio currently rents for $2,000 a month.

The new micro-apartments would rent for $1,200 to $1,500 a month,
considerably less.

At that size and price point, these apartments are made for
young, single professionals who are in the city purely to work.

But not everyone is happy with the new apartments.

According to the LA Times, tenants' rights advocates feel that
tiny pads are not doing anything "to ease the strain on families
and would push the city further down the road as a playground for
young singles."

And Supervisor David Campos told
The AP, " Even though they do maximize their use of the
space, you are still talking about very small units being very
expensive. If these places that are 200 square feet are going for
$1,500, what is that going to do to the rest of housing prices in
San Francisco?"

But Scott Wiener, another supervisor, supported the plan, telling
The LA Times: "Family-sized housing is important, and its
development should be encouraged. But many — including seniors,
students and transition-age youth — do not need as much space or
cannot afford it. These units will be a viable alternative."

At those price points and sizes, and with a two-person limit, it
sounds like anyone hoping to live in a micro-apartment will have
to be rich and single.